Pharmapack Europe highlights market trends for 2016
Updates on the latest market trends in drug delivery and packaging are on offer at Pharmapack Europe 2016
This year’s Pharmapack Europe– which is taking place today and tomorrow (10-11 February) at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles – has identified several key trends that it says pharma and companies operating in drug delivery and packaging, must address in 2016.
The annual event is taking place in Paris where industry analysts, executives and companies are gathering to learn and discuss the latest issues affecting the industry.
A key issue for 2016 will be the ongoing implementation of track and trace technologies and the impending European falsified medicines directive. Experts are discussing the implications of the pan-European authentication scheme, its impact on contract manufacturers, OEMs and pharma companies. Speakers include Craig Stobie, Domino; Romulo Leon, Mettler Toledo PCE; Michel Bullen, Optel Vision; Rick Seibert, Sharp Packaging Solutions and Michael Gaub, Pester.
The European standard EN 16679, has recently come into effect and provides guidance for the application, use and checking of tamper verification features to the packaging of medicinal products. By 2018, all prescription medicine will be required to include a tamper verification feature (TVF). Pharma is now at a crossroads, say the organisers of the event and manufacturers across Europe have to decide which TVF to choose before the looming deadline.
Human factors engineering
Combination products will also be a key area for 2016, with the integration of human factors engineering (HFE), design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for assembly (DFA) seen as the foundations for the development of this product class. There will be an emergence of smaller and smarter combination products that will speed-up time to market by examining the manufacturing scale-up strategy, concurrent with the development process.
Technologies and packaging that can improve patient adherence will remain a key growth area and several sessions are running at Pharmapack across the design process for patient friendly packs and how new innovations alongside social media are helping drive crucial competitive advantages. In oral solids, the discussion for the last 30 years has been rigid versus flexible solutions – essentially bottles versus blisters. But in 2016, companies will be seeking better packaging options for pharmaceutical doses.
Communication is key
Moreover, the drive for packaging to communicate with patient and healthcare professionals is growing rapidly – whether driven by regulatory agencies (serialisation and traceability) or consumer groups. The next hotbed of potential innovations is set to be flexible packaging for variable dosage forms, in line with the rise in personalised medicine. Ultimately, we may see packaging that has the scope to communicate, or be involved more directly, in the relationship between consumer and physician. But who will be the industry trailblazers and can disruptive players like Apple and Google help to build new eco-systems that revolutionise this status quo?
Outsourcing growth
Outsourcing is continuing to accelerate with new prototypes and innovations emerging rapidly from the contract services sector itself. This has huge implications not only in terms of regulation challenges and changes but also in terms of skills migration from pharma into the supply chain. The Pharmapack conference will conclude tomorrow with a roundtable on ‘emerging technologies and innovation forecast’.
Steven Kaufman, global business development lead, Bespak, commented: “Pharmapack Europe provides an excellent opportunity for attendees and exhibitors to engage with current and prospective business partners in packaging and drug delivery. It’s a vital reference point of new business strategies, thought leadership, and innovation that will shape the industry over the next year.”
Innovation gallery
The Innovation Gallery at Pharmapack Europe 2016 is showcaseing the advances in packaging intelligence – such as new material, primary and secondary packaging, delivery, labelling, leaflets, anti-counterfeiting technologies, and traceability – that will underpin the next generation of delivery technologies in 2016 and beyond.
“The year ahead is extremely exciting for the pharma packaging and drug delivery industry, with new strategies across patient packaging and combination products, as well as outsourcing helping to bring drugs to market faster. Our conference platform and innovation galleries have identified the crucial breakthroughs that will revolutionise not only how pharma and supply partners work together, but also how these technologies will be essential in transforming the patient experience. In the last few years, packaging and delivery have become an even more essential part of a drug’s regulatory approval process, adherence and efficacy – especially as the use of personalised care and cost effective generics increase. I would encourage anyone looking to stay ahead of market trends and meet new innovative partners to attend Pharmapack,” said Anne Schumacher, event director, Pharmapack.